I shall now proceed to consider what advantages the Canal would present to sailing vessels navigating between Europe and the East. The distance from the English Channel to Calcutta, _viâ_ the Cape of Good Hope, by the route taken by the best sailing vessels, may be put down at _miles_ 13,000 _Viâ_ the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and Indian Ocean, it is about 8,000 Gain in distance by the latter route, to or from Calcutta 5,000 By the Cape route to Bombay it is about 11,500 By the Red Sea route 6,200 Gain in distance to or from Bombay 5,300 This is, of course, assuming the navigation by the Mediterranean and Red Sea route to be of equal facility with the Cape route. And I shall now endeavour to examine this part of the question with the accuracy which its importance demands. The first point which presents itself in this consideration, is the influence of the monsoons, or periodical winds, which prevail throughout the Indian Seas, and in the southern part of the Red Sea. The south-west monsoon, which blows much stronger than the north-east monsoon, prevails in the Indian Ocean, between the east coast of Africa and the coasts of India, &c., from May until October, blowing with the greatest force during the months of June, July, and August. The north-east monsoon prevails from October to May, but is of much less force than the south-west monsoon. In order to estimate the difficulties or advantages of these periodical winds, to a sailing vessel navigating by the Red Sea, as compared with the route by the Cape of Good Hope, we must, for vessels bound to or from the most important commercial ports in India—the Presidencies of Madras and Bengal, as also Ceylon, Singapore, Java, China, &c., suppose her placed at a point a few degrees to the southward of Ceylon from or to which she would have to proceed, whether navigating by the Cape of Good Hope, or by the Red Sea route. Now, it is well known, that from this position a vessel steering for the coast of Africa towards Cape Guardafui (the southern extremity of the Gulf of Aden), and thence to the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb (the entrance of the Red Sea), would carry the wind a-beam, and could therefore make her passage to or from the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, and the given point to the southward of Ceylon, during the whole of the south-west monsoon. As the north-east monsoon blows in an exactly opposite direction to the south-west monsoon, and is much more moderate, a sailing vessel could make good her course between the Red Sea and the same point south of Ceylon, equally well as in the south-west monsoon, and therefore during the whole year could effect this part of the passage with tolerable certainty.